Not Good Enough For Truth Or Cliche
by claygurl58
Summary: What happens when Draco Malfoy accepts a task that is to become friends with his enemy, Hermione Granger? What happens when the two of them find that they are falling for each other? Will Draco continue his task, or will he try to protect the one he loves
1. Chapter 1

Draco Malfoy burst out of the castle. He was fuming. He had just finished up with a meeting with his father, and he did not like what was being said. Draco, of course, was going to follow in the footsteps of his father and be a death eater. He just got finished talking with his father about a task the Dark Lord wanted him to do. He was disgusted by the task. He had to befriend a muggle born. And not just any muggle born. It just had to be Hermione Granger. Why her of all people? Yes, he knew the answer. Anyone could guess the answer. It was because she was best friends with Harry Potter. Why else would the Dark Lord want him to become friends with that piece filth? He was disgusted with this task, but knew he had to complete it. If he didn't, there would be sever consequences. Draco shuddered at the thought of them. He knew Voldemort didn't play fair. If he failed with this task, Voldemort wouldn't go after him. He would go after his family, most likely his mother. Draco couldn't allow his mother to be hurt just because of him. He wouldn't allow it.

Draco took in a deep breath as he walked around the castle grounds. He stopped walking, his eyes immediately falling on a bushy haired muggle born. He cringed at the thought of having to get close to her and act like he actually wanted to be her friend. Why couldn't someone else do this task? Everyone knew how much the two hated each other. This task was going to be very difficult. Draco didn't even know where to begin. How was he going to make up for seven years of making fun of her and making her life a living hell? It was not going to be easy. That much he was certain of. But he needed to do it.

Taking in another deep breath, Draco made his way over to Hermione. He wasn't stupid. He knew he couldn't just start apologizing for everything and tell her that he has had a change of heart. Who would believe that? No one. He had to be subtle about everything. He had to watch what he said and bite his tongue when he wanted to throw a nasty comment out to her or her freaky friends. Draco walked over to her and sat down a few feet away from her. He sat with his knees up, his arms wrapped loosely around them. He stared out onto the lake, trying to think of how this was going to be possible. He closed his eyes for a moment and then turned his head towards Hermione.

"Granger." he greeted with a head nod. He couldn't call her by her first name yet. It would seem to formal and to suspicious.

Hermione turned her head toward him, raising an eyebrow. "Malfoy." she greeted and then turned her attention back to the book she was reading. What was Malfoy up to now? Couldn't he just leave her be? Was that to much to ask? Of course it was. This was Malfoy we were talking about. He set out to make her life a living hell.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting you."

Hermione picked her head up to look at him again. She looked at him, very confused. Did he just apologize? No rude comments yet? Why was he being nice? She threw a glare his way and then went back to reading her book.

Draco looked at her and then looked back out onto the lake. His plan was to just sit here with her, show her he wasn't that bad of a guy. He wouldn't interrupt her reading. He would just sit here and keep quiet and try to keep calm. On the inside, he was dying to say as many nasty comments as she could to her. He was literally biting his tongue to keep that from happening. For the sake of this task, he had to keep his big mouth shut.

After about ten minutes of just sitting there, Draco finally rose to his feet. He brushed himself off and then turned to face Hermione again. He tried to force a smile, but it didn't work out to well. He quickly covered it up with his famous smirk.

"I hope you are enjoying your book. See you around, Granger."

And with that he stalked off, back up to the castle.

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AN: I know that wasn't the greatest, but it will get better. I promise!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own anything, only the ideas.

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Draco was proud of himself. He didn't flip out or lose his cool while he was sitting next to Granger. That was an accomplishment in itself. Maybe this would be a little easier than he thought. He didn't want to get cocky, but he couldn't help it. As long as he didn't lose his cool around her, he should be able to convince her that he had changed. Eventually she would believe him. Right? He sure hoped he was right.

The rest of the day passed by normally. Classes went by pretty quickly. Whenever he had a class with Hermione, Draco tried to be as nice as he could without being overly nice. When he passed her in the halls, he gave her a polite head nod and attempted to give her a smile every now and then.

Of course, her two freaks of friends were by her side every time he acted nice. All three of them were suspicious. That was for sure. Draco knew he should be worried, but he wasn't. Hermione was her own person. She didn't let anyone else think for her. If scar head and Weasley didn't like how he was acting, and she, by chance, believed him, then she wouldn't care what those two thought. Draco was banking on this. He could careless if scar head and Weasley didn't like him. As long as Hermione did, nothing else mattered.

At dinner, Draco sat in his usual spot. He was in the middle of the table, surrounded by his "friends." He knew half of them could careless about him, but he could say the same about them. He just liked having people around him. It made him feel important. As he was eating, he kept his eyes on Hermione. How was he suppose to get her to believe him? He couldn't rush it, but he didn't have all the time in the world either. The Dark Lord was impatient and wanted progress.

Hermione could feel Draco's eyes on her all through dinner. This made her very uncomfortable. What did he want? Why was he being so nice to her? There had to be a reason. She knew Draco Malfoy hated her. He would kill her if ever given the chance, so why was he pretending to be so nice to her? Hermione looked up and meet his eyes with hers. She raised an eyebrow at him. She was going to find out what he wanted. Even if it killed her.

Draco smirked when he meet Hermione's gaze. He finished up his food and then rose to his feet. A few people rose to go with him, but he signaled them for him to just leave him alone. Hopefully curiosity would get the better of Granger and she would get up and follow him. His wishful thinking came true. As soon as Draco left the Great Hall, Hermione had gotten up and left her two friends behind. Draco smirked to himself and leaned up against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. When Hermione walked by, he was about to say something, but was caught off by her.

"What do you want Malfoy?" she hissed.

"What do you mean?" he asked innocently.

"You know what I mean! You have been acting all nice to me! Why?!"

Draco looked at her. He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I guess I'm just tired of fighting with you all of the time. It's to much work to keep the bad boy act up."

Hermione looked at him, blinking her eyes a few times. Was Draco Malfoy saying he wanted to be friends with a muggle born? There was no way. Something was up. There had to be.

Draco was reading her face and knew exactly what she was thinking. She was thinking this was some kind of trick. If she was smart, she would keep on thinking that and not believe a word he said, but, of course, she would believe him with time. "Think whatever you want to think, Granger." he said, looking at her closely. "But you can't deny the facts. I'm being nice and will continue to be nice. If you want to think it's some trick, then by all means go ahead."

Draco looked at her one last time and gave her a smile. He pushed himself off the wall and walked away, leaving Hermione alone to think.

AN: I know it's still on the suck side, but I swear it will get better. Reviews would be awesome.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Only the ideas.

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The days turned into weeks and the weeks into months. What Draco was trying to accomplish was taking time, but everything seemed to be going according to plan. The Dark Lord was growing impatient, but Draco had assured him that he would get what he wanted by the end of the week. He prayed that he was right in saying that. Hermione was slowly, but surely, falling for his little act. Draco would make a point to talk to her whenever he had the chance and whenever she was alone. He didn't want to risk too much with Potter and Weasley, but he was around them occasionally to show Hermione that he meant no harm. Draco had three more days until the end of the week. He was planning on asking Hermione out and then leading her to the Death Eater's hideout. It seemed easy, but he had to be careful. Hermione Granger was a very smart girl, Draco had to give her that much no matter how much he hated it.

Draco was standing outside by the lake. He took in a deep breath. He was planning to ask Hermione to Hogsmeade this weekend with him. If she said no, he didn't know what he was going to do. She had to say yes, or else he would have to take her by force and that wasn't exactly the way to earn someone's trust. Draco would spend the whole day with her in Hogsmeade to warm her up to him. He would act like a complete gentleman and when he finally had her trust he would lose it within a matter of seconds. He didn't care, though. He was doing his job. He could careless what happened to her. She was a mudblood after all.

Draco's eyes scanned the grounds and smirked when he saw Hermione walking down. Right on time. After observing her for months, Draco could predict what she was going to do and knew her schedule. Everyday after classes she would drop her things off in her dorm and then come down to the lake to relax. Potter and Weasley never came with her. It was the perfect moment to ask her what he needed to ask. When she took her usual spot under a tree, Draco waited a few seconds before walking over to her. He stuck his hands in his pockets and stopped a few feet away from her.

"Hey." he said softly.

Hermione looked up and smiled when she saw Draco standing there. He almost always came over to talk to her when she was down here. She didn't mind. It was actually kind of nice to have someone other than Harry and Ron to talk to. For the first month of Draco being nice, she had been suspicious. She still was, but it was slowly slipping away. Draco had done nothing for her to think he was up to something. He hadn't made fun of her or called her mudblood in a very long time. It was nice to talk to him. She liked talking to him. He was a human being just like everyone else. You just had to get past the tough guy act.

"Hey." she replied.

"How were classes?" he asked, taking a seat a few feet away from her.

"Pretty good."

Draco nodded. He didn't say anything else for a few more minutes. He had to think about what he needed to say to get her to come with him this weekend. After awhile, he decided to just wing it. He was a smooth talker, it was a gift he was blessed with, and could probably talk her into going even if she refused at first.

"So, I was wondering if…if maybe you want to go to Hogsmeade this weekend." he said. "With…With me."

Hermione looked at Draco, somewhat shocked. Did he just ask her out? She knew they were acting civilized towards each other, but she never expected anything more than friendship. She wasn't sure what to think. Should she be suspicious? Or should she give it a try? Harry and Ron would kill her if she agreed to go with him. They didn't like that the two of them were talking in the first place.

"I…I don't know."

Draco let out a sigh. He had expected this, so he already had what he wanted to say planned. "Listen, Hermione," he said, using her first name for the first time. "I know you don't trust me, which is completely understandable. What I have done to you these past years have been terrible, but can you blame me? Look at the family I come from." He said as he looked into her eyes. "I'm trying to make things right. This doesn't have to be a date. It could be two friends just going out. And aren't you always talking about house unity? This could be the perfect way to start that. If I can get along with a muggleborn, then I think everyone else can get along."

Hermione listened to him carefully as he spoke. He sounded very sincere about this. What he was saying was the truth. He was trying to make things right and here she was questioning him. She looked at him and then out onto the lake, thinking. After a few minutes she let out a deep sigh and looked at him.

"What time do you want to meet?"

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AN: I hope you like. It will start getting interesting within the next few chapters. If you read this and like it PLEASE review! It encourages me to keep on writing.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: So sorry for the wait! I have been really busy. I hope you like! Please review if you do!

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The two decided to meet at Hogsmeade at noon. Hermione didn't want to tell Ron or Harry yet because she knew they would flip out. She was going to make up some excuse and then sneak away to spend the afternoon with Draco. Wow. She never thought she would think those words. Sneaking around her best friends to hang out with who use to be her worse enemy. What was she thinking? Honestly, she didn't know. Something told her not to go, but the bigger part of her was telling her too. What could possibly happen? Nothing. There were going to be people around her, so even if this was some sort of trick someone would have to notice.

After calming herself down, Hermione decided to get ready. She would have to leave soon to go meet Draco. She took a quick shower and then tried to do something with her hair, but failed. It was the same bushy mess as always. She let out a sigh and then dressed herself in a pair of jeans and a brown sweater. She applied some make up, but not to much. It was barely noticeable, but made a difference. Hermione made sure she had her wand, and then once she was ready, headed down to the common room.

Harry and Ron were sitting there, talking about who knows what when she walked down. The two picked up their heads when they heard someone coming down. Ron raised an eyebrow at Hermione's appearance. Why did she look like she was going out?

"Where are you doing?" he demanded.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "It's none of your business, Ronald. I am allowed to go out it I want to. Just because you weren't invited doesn't mean you have to be over protective. I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself." she said.

"Where are you going?" he asked again. "And with who?"

"If you must know, I am going to Hogsmeade with a few friends. Is that okay with you?"

Ron looked at Harry, giving him a confused look and then looked back at Hermione. He shrugged. "Yeah, sure." he said. "Have fun."

Hermione smiled and let out a sigh of relief when he didn't ask any further questions. "I will. See you two later!" she said and then walked out of the common room and down the halls until she reached the outside. She took in a deep breath. It wasn't to late to turn back. She could turn around and walk back up to her dorm. Maybe she should have told Harry and Ron the truth on who she was going with. What if this was a trick? What if something did happen? If they knew she was with Draco they would come after her if she didn't return. Hermione shook her head of the thoughts. Nothing was going to happen to her. Nothing at all. She was going to spend the afternoon with Draco and have a good time.

Hermione took in another deep breath and then began walking towards the entrance to Hogsmeade. When she got there, Draco was waiting for her. She smiled softly and walked over to him.

"Am I late?"

Draco looked up at her, giving her a smile. "No. I'm just early."

Hermione laughed and looked at him. She looked over his appearance. Dark clothes, just like always. He was wearing dark jeans and a black turtle neck. It looked good on him and she had to admit that he looked very attractive. Hermione caught herself staring and quickly looked in another direction. "So, where to first?"

"Are you hungry? I was thinking we could go get something to eat."

"That's fine with me." she said. She gave him another smile and then began walking into Hogsmeade with Draco at her side.


End file.
